The Starting Rotation

The Dodgers are coming into Spring Training with pitchers anxious to get started and are looking forward to great pitching season.

Back in 2011, Clayton Kershaw won the Cy Young award. He is coming off a down year, yet he came in second to former pitcher, R.A. Dickey, in the Cy Young award race. The only reason it was a down year because the team offense couldn't produce enough run support. He will be this year's Opening Day starter for the third consecutive year in a row.

Zack Greinke, who just signed with the Dodgers this offseason on a six year deal, $147 million, will the team's number two starter behind Kershaw. Greinke is a former Cy Young winner with the Kansas City Royals. Greinke won't have to play the role of being a ace, which had done with every other team he has played with.

I am very excited for the first two pitchers, it is possible that the Dodgers might have the best 1-2 punch duo in Kershaw and Greinke. The fact that the two pitchers both are former Cy Young winners makes very excited because we haven't had that in Los Angeles since the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale era and that was a LONG time ago. I believe Greinke, who is a new addition to the team, will fit well because Dodgers stadium is a pitchers ball park. That is why Kershaw has done very well with the Dodgers.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, the 6-2", 215 pounder left handed pitcher, came from Korea to sign with the Dodgers during the offseason. The Dodgers won a bid to talk to Ryu for $24.1 million, then signed him to a 6 year deal for $36 million. Ryu will be slotted into the 3rd spot in the starting rotation behind Kershaw and Greinke. Ryu, to me is a very interesting player to watch, considering that he is coming over from Korea, I know nothing about him except that he was the best pitcher from all of Korea. I believe he will do well at Dodgers stadium as well as Kershaw and Greinke. Ryu, like Carl Crawford, who hasn't played a single game yet in Dodgers uniform, are going to be very exciting to watch and see them playing well with success for the Dodgers.

The final two spots in the starting rotation will be up for grabs. The competition consist of Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang and Ted Lilly. Billingsley and Beckett are favorites to take the last two spots coming in, but anything can happen considering Billingsley's arm might fall off and have tommy john surgery. Beckett came to the Dodgers in a trade from Boston last August and pitched well in the last two months of the season. Capuano and Harang both signed with the Dodgers last year and performed what the management expected of them. I expect Beckett and Billingsley to win the last two spots.